The new Osprey 'Essential Histories'
series was started in 2001 and hopes to evolve into a standard history of
conflict. The first few releases were concerned largely with the American Civil
War and Napoleonic period, but now we have the initial books for the First World
War.

The war on the Eastern Front is
largely an unknown chapter of the conflict, and one particularly neglected by
English-speaking historians. Indeed, Norman Stone's book from the 1970s is about
all that comes to mind. And while we are familiar with the war in France and
Flanders, and might even have heard of Tannenberg, the events which unfolded
during this complicated period are forgotten - until now.

The author is a specialist in Russian
and Soviet military history, in particular the fighting on the Eastern Front in
two world wars. Here he has provided us with an approachable and readable
introduction to this period, setting the scene and describing some of the key
battles, generals and figure heads. The background to the complicated relations
between each of the warring nations is particularly well described. The maps for
a book of this nature are important, and as with the Western
Front volume, they are good - and show the size of this huge conflict which
killed five times as many Russians as Germans, but tied up nearly a third of
Germany's entire military machine.

A most welcome book on a neglected
history; if you only ever buy one book on this subject, then this essential
history is just that - required reading.